For many, Vecna’s demise in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 was the long-awaited conclusion of the show’s most frightening antagonist. However, there was almost an additional layer of emotion in the scene, as Jamie Campbell Bower revealed, which could have completely altered the perception of Henry Creel’s final moments.
Jamie Campbell Bower Tried to Bring Back Henry Creel in Vecna’s Last Moments
Throughout the series, Vecna spread fear, death, and destruction. However, Bower never lost sight of the humanity that lay beneath the monster. The actor recently shared that he attempted to tap into that side of the character in the finale of the show.
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In the climactic scene, Vecna is stabbed to death and left impaled as the heroes finally get the better of him. The protagonists’ victory is played as Joyce Byers nears finishing him. But Bower had a more sadistic idea.
The actor was inspired by ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’, a stage adaptation of the original TV series that explores the earlier life of Henry Creel. He knew there was a scared and broken man in Vecna. In his last moments, he pictured the character desperately trying to reach that lost humanity.
Bower even tried to insert the words “Please don’t” in post-production ADR sessions, in the hope that the line would sound like a final plea for mercy. “So, it’s when Joyce steps up. I couldn’t help but have this moment of humanity is having to come through here. The humanity wants to come through. I want to say, ‘Stop. Please don’t do this,” he told Collider Forces.
The addition failed to materialize and was ultimately not used in the final episode, but the emotional intent was always at the heart of his acting. It’s an interesting tidbit as it implies that Vecna wasn’t just dying. He was dying to the memory of himself.
Bower Always Saw The Human Side Of A Monster
Henry Creel’s story has always been about loss. The actor saw Vecna as a man who lost bits of his innocence over and over again, as Vecna became one of ‘Stranger Things’ most terrifying villains. That attitude affected his approach to the end. Bower didn’t want Vecna to be a purely evil character.
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He wanted viewers to see a glimpse of the boy that he was before the darkness took hold. Ironically, the actor had previously succeeded in making a small dialogue change during Season 4, when an improvised addition during ADR ended up in the final cut.
“I remember in ADR, I was watching it, and I growled with my mouth, and it made the O-U shape, ooh, like that, and I was like, ‘Oh, it looks like I’m saying, ‘you.’ Can I try to put ‘you’ in there before she says ‘hi’ and throws him back?’ And they’re like, ‘Sure, give it a go.’ And we did it, and it ended up in the cut.”
This time, however, the creative gamble didn’t make it across the finish line. Despite this, the revelation adds a heart-wrenching twist to Vecna’s conclusion. Under the monstrous facade and years of destruction lies a character still haunted by the man he once was. In a fleeting moment, Jamie Campbell Bower wanted audiences to hear that pain out loud.
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